The Bridge at Cornell Tech: Forest City releases new images of crystalline incubator building on Roosevelt Island

A "crystalline incubator with river-to-river views", The Bridge at Cornell Tech promises to be one of the most invigorating new buildings on the school's forthcoming Roosevelt Island campus. Developers Forest City Ratner Companies released brand new renderings of the first-of-its-kind innovation space yesterday, as well as construction photos that show the structure's progress thus far. Flip through our gallery to get a taste of what the groundbreaking hub on the East River will look like when it's complete.

The Bridge at Cornell Tech will be an innovation center and hub where entrepreneurs, researchers and startups can meet, collaborate and trade ideas with investors and established companies. Designed by WEISS/MANFREDI and developed by Forest City Ratner, the structure was approached as a complete ecosystem rather than just a building, with special consideration and focus placed on optimizing the space as a tool for galvanizing the development of new technologies and products.

“The Bridge is a crystalline incubator with river-to-river views and creates a three dimensional crossroads, an ecosystem of innovation that catalyzes collaboration between academics and entrepreneurs,” said Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, design partners at WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism.

The glassy building will also offer spectacular views of the city skyline and Queensboro Bridge that are sure to serve as inspiration for new ideas.

In addition to its stunning vistas and state-of-the-art facilities, The Bridge will also be a model of sustainable building for the city. Targeting a minimum of LEED Silver, the project will be topped by a rooftop solar panel array, and uses eco-conscious materials in its construction. Efficient water fixtures were also utilized and the building will have stormwater capture capabilities. Resiliency was an important factor in the design, so WEISS/MANFREDI opted for a bathtub foundation, placed the structure’s ground floor 10′ above the 100-year flood plain, and located base building tel/data and security head-end equipment on the ground floor instead of in the basement.